Certainly one of the most outstanding features of a digital timepiece is the relative ease with which a person viewing the timepiece can communicate the time to a person or persons who cannot see it, as in the case of a radio announcer broadcasting the time over the air. A digital timepiece has one of the same advantages over an analog timepiece that a digital calculator has over a slide rule: the reading process is instantaneous--it does not require mental labelling of fiducial marks.
However, from 31 through 59 minutes after the hour, this advantage is offset if the viewer chooses to express the time in the second of the two formats listed below. A conversion will be necessary. EQU "m.sub.1 minutes after h.sub.1 ", Format
where m.sub.1 is the minutes after the current hour and h.sub.1 is the current hour. EQU "48 minutes after 7". Example EQU "m.sub.2 minutes before h.sub.2 ", Format
where m.sub.2 is the minutes before the next hour and h.sub.2 is the next hour. EQU "12 minutes before 8". Example
A need clearly exists, therefore, for a simple and aesthetically pleasing method of representing the time of day so that those who prefer the second format during the last 29 minutes of the hour will not be required to devise and execute a conversion procedure.